One type of fiber optic organization component, such as a fiber tray, shelf, rack or panel, receives a trunk cable made up of a plurality of optical fibers. These fibers are fanned out at the organization component and individually connected to a plurality of female receptacles. Male connectors can be plugged into the receptacles to form a connection between a fiber optic cable attached to the male connector and one of the fibers of the trunk cable. When a male connector is plugged into a given receptacle, the close fit between the connector and the receptacle helps prevent dust from entering the receptacle. When a given receptacle is not in use, it may be desirable to cover the empty receptacle in some manner to keep out dust which can later interfere with the proper functioning of the receptacle, and to also prevent laser light from exiting the empty receptacle, which can damage a person's eyesight. Fiber optic components other than organization components (such passive or active devices, like amplifiers, splitters, attenuators, and multiplexers) may also include one or more receptacles for receiving male connectors and may also benefit from a shutter mechanism for reducing the amount of dust entering an empty receptacle and light exiting an empty receptacle.
Dust can be kept out of a fiber optic receptacle in various ways. One approach is the use of removable plugs shaped like the ends of the male connectors that can be inserted in the receptacles. Such plugs, while effective, may be dropped and lost when being inserted or removed and may not be readily available when needed. Spring-loaded covers and covers having living hinges are also known for covering unused receptacles. Such covers are securely connected to the fiber optic adapter and will not be lost when a given receptacle is uncovered. However, such shutters generally include a spring for biasing the cover toward a closed position and/or a latch for securing the cover in a closed position which makes these covers relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, connectors having covers biased toward a closed position by a spring must be held open against the force of the spring when an operator attempts to load the receptacle with a connector, which can be cumbersome during connector installations. Latches require unlatching to allow a cover to open and must often be deliberately pressed closed to ensure that they are latched in a position that will keep out dust.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a closure for a fiber optic receptacle in a fiber optic component that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture that that does not suffer from the aforementioned shortcomings.